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Kevin Jacobson

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Filtering carbon from the atmosphere. It could save entire species from global warming.

What if you had large filter type devices that could filter carbon and smog and photochemical smog and other fossil fuel wastes from the atmosphere. Just think what an impact could be made if an array of such devices was placed in every major city in the world. If this were to actually happen, it would allow use to relieve the pressure of global warming and dangerous chemicals in the atmosphere. The cancer rate would possibly go down due to toxic industrial chemicals disappearing and we would save many species from extinction.

Topics: Greenhouse Gases
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  • Douglas Bell

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    Jun 27 2012: Hi Kevin,

    Unfortunately we're a very long way from being able to control helium fusion, let alone carbon fusion on the scale you imagine.

    On a practical side, how much could we accomplish to these ends if we could just get everyone to plant one tree.

    Best wishes,
    Doug Bell
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      Kevin Jacobson

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      Jun 28 2012: It could be accomplished with a normal magnetic pinch style reactor(industrial ones have not yet been built). You would just have to, in simple words, zap the plasma a little more to create larger magnetic pressure.

      About the tree idea, it would be extremely hard to get a significant number of people to do that(I would) and you also have to factor in urbanization and agriculture.

  • Liam Hollands

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    Jun 24 2012: We would then have vast stores of Carbon that we can't do anything with.
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      Kevin Jacobson

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      Jun 24 2012: Actually, thats not true. You can fuse it into oxygen for use in space. Plus, you also produce electricity at the same time if you use it in a fusion reactor. Fusion technology hasn't quite lifted of the ground yet, but were getting there.
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